Michele Nagamine greeted her players with a smile and without a fitness test. Apparently, the Hawaii women’s soccer team had just entered the eye of a storm of forthcoming pain.
Yet aside from the occasional outburst of Nagamine’s distinctive voice, the third-year Hawaii soccer coach exuded calm in the team’s first fall practice Wednesday morning at the UH grass practice field.
A seemingly kinder, gentler Nagamine hasn’t forgotten that expectations are raised a notch coming off an 8-9-3 season and sixth-place finish in UH’s inaugural run through the Big West Conference.
"This year, I almost have a calm, serene approach to everything," Nagamine said. "The summer went by very, very quickly. I wanted to just kind of stress to the team that we are not that same team from my first year. We’ve got better players and better athletes. We should be past the points of having to do all these little, time-consuming things in the team management aspect of things. We should be able to just get out there and play."
And play they did, without worrying — at least on Day 1 of two-a-day practices — about the fitness tests that in some ways defined Nagamine’s last two preseasons. The coach acknowledged they led to some added anxiety in the past.
"I wanted to make sure we avoided that, and I think by letting them come out today and just playing and competing, we’re getting them into their comfort zones a little bit faster," she said.
UH has a little more than two weeks before its season opener vs. UNC-Greensboro in the OHANA Hotels and Resorts No Ka Oi tournament at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium on Aug. 23. It is still short on height, but not in fight.
"I think we can totally kick ass this year," said 5-foot-2 defender Karli Look, one of six seniors. "I think we have a great team. We have very diverse people who are good at different things. We all just counterbalance each other."
There’s quite a bit coming back at every position, with one notable exception — goalkeeper.
Leading scorer Tiana Fujimoto (eight goals in 2012) is back as a junior, as is Big West second-team midfielder Krystal Pascua. Senior Chelsea Miyake still anchors the defensive line and is key on set pieces.
The Wahine also welcomed back fifth-year seniors Skye Shimabukuro and Bree Locquiao, who missed all of last season with injuries.
Pascua, Look and defender Crystal Fresquez were dubbed team captains.
Something is a little different for Pascua this preseason. Her little sister, Kama, is one of the Wahine freshmen.
Pascua gave her sibling high marks — "Her? Nahh, she got it" — after the team engaged in scrimmages. She was enthusiastic about the other fresh faces, as well.
"Judging by the way we practiced today, I think we’re ready," Pascua said.
There are several roles to sort out among the 10 newcomers and 16 returnees, including the leadership void left by mid Rachel Domingo. Most notably, UH must replace four-year starting keeper Kanani Taaca.
Two redshirt freshmen, Georgia Barnes and Erica Young, are joined by touted true freshman Monk Berger to vie for the spot. Berger, ranked No. 58 in ESPN’s Top 150 recruits overall for 2013, had an impressive save to punch the ball over the crossbar in her first practice.
Nagamine said she’d receive feedback from assistant Marc Fournier and look at goals-allowed statistics from upcoming practices to help determine Taaca’s successor.
"Definitely a lot of talking. That’s what we need from our keepers," Pascua said. "Being more vocal. But overall, they all look really good."
Team adds HPU game
UH announced the addition of Hawaii Pacific to its 2013 schedule, increasing the home slate to nine games and 17 overall. The Rainbow Wahine and Sea Warriors meet at 7 p.m. on Sept. 25, a Wednesday.
